Asia Trip Tests Obama's Postelection Global Clout
By JOSH LEDERMAN
Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) -- His influence at home fading, President Barack Obama is looking abroad to China, the opening stop of a three-country trip that will test his ability to play a commanding global role during his final two years in office.
Once Obama was treated like a superstar on the world stage. But the president will arrive in Beijing on Monday under far different conditions, with his most powerful days behind him.
At home, Republicans are still rejoicing at having pummeled Obama's party in the midterm elections, relegating Democrats to the minority in both chambers of Congress. His counterparts in Asia surely have noticed.
The trip also marks one of Obama's final chances to deliver on his goal to amplify America's influence in Asia and the Pacific. In China, Myanmar and Australia, leaders may render a judgment on whether Obama's lofty ambitions in the region have been sidetracked by crises in Eastern Europe, Africa and the Middle East.
"This is going to be a tough trip for the president," said Ernest Bower, an Asia expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. He said Asian leaders were viewing Obama's visit with this question in mind: Who is the president after the midterm elections?
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